Often, patients with significant one-time or permanent illnesses that affect the neurological system (e.g. stroke, traumatic spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, spina bifida) will experience degradation in their control of motor skills. In particular, this degradation in control can significantly affect a patient's walking ability. Thus, patients may require physical therapy following a neurological illness to regain walking ability.
A number of orthosis (or orthotic) systems have been developed to assist patients in recovering their ability to walk. One such orthosis system is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/062,903, entitled “POWERED ORTHOSIS,” filed on Apr. 4, 2008, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. These systems operate by retraining the coordination among the joints within and across a user's impaired limbs during a walking motion. By repetitively practicing with an orthosis system, the user may redevelop their motor skills and recover walking ability. However, time spent during this rehabilitation process may be frustrating or painful for the patient. Accordingly, orthosis systems that improve recovery time and patient comfort are desired.